A lawn mower is perhaps the most important tool you can have at your disposal for maintaining and up keeping your lawn.
Grass that hasn’t been mowed in a while tends to grow out of control, and while there is some beauty in disorder, a neat and tidy lawn is not something you’ll have in this scenario.
Related: Check out our guide on how to create a luscious lawn.
Nor is there any tool out there that can technically replace a lawnmower; I mean you could get down on your knees and start snipping the grass with a pair of gardening scissors, but would you seriously want to put yourself through THAT much trouble? I didn’t think so either…
But that being said, a lawnmower is a pretty hefty investment to make, so you can’t be looking to replace your lawnmower every year or so.
The typical lifespan of a lawnmower is around 5 to 6 years, meaning your investment will probably pay off in the long run, provided you’re not too rough in your use of it.
Here are a few tips to help you extend your lawnmower’s lifespan:
1. Keep your lawn mower clean
Never underestimate the importance of cleaning your tools, be they anything simple like a knife or something complex like a lawnmower. Cleaning the machine is even more important in the case of the lawnmower since the machine practically gets dirty after every use.
Chopped grass and dew can stick to the underside and top of your machine and can sometimes even find it’s a way inside the engine if you’re not careful.
While a day’s cutting usually has little to no effect on the performance of your lawnmower, if you’re not regular with your cleaning the grass deposits would only build up and clog your machine, making it work less efficiently.
And it isn’t even like cleaning your lawnmower is too hard; simply use a cloth to wipe down the blade and underside of your lawnmower, using a plastic scraper to get to the stickier pieces. Just be sure to disconnect the spark plug every time you start cleaning.
2. Changing the fuel and oil
If you’re not intending to use your lawnmower for an extended period of time (like during winters when your lawn is covered with snow), its best to empty all fuel inside the tank into a petrol can for the lawnmower along with the oil in the engine, otherwise the petrol could spoil and damage the engine.
Leaving a mower for long periods of time with oil and petrol in it can degrade the performance and lifespan of your mower because the petrol and oil can go bad over time.
Even if you don’t leave your lawnmower unused for longer than a week; however, it is still a good idea to change the oil once every year. Doing so ensures the motor isn’t harmed from using dirty oil as a lubricant over long periods.
Of course, this assumes you are using a petrol powered mower and not a cordless electric one like the new GTech lawnmower 2.0.
3. Sharpen the blade
Just as a dull knife is of practically no use in the kitchen, a dulled lawnmower can make cutting grass a much harder task than it needs to be. All blades wear with use over time, and your lawnmower’s blade is no exception.
However, failing to recognize that your blade has become worn and less effective, this issue may result in shortening the lifespan of your lawnmower, since you’re going to be pushing the machine more and working it for long hours at a time to get the same amount of work done.
You’ll also be using up a lot more fuel per grass cutting session, which just means wasted money.
To avoid this scenario, make it a point to sharpen your blade at least once a year. You can do this yourself, but we highly advise taking it to a professional to get the job done if you’re not confident about how to go about the task yourself.
4. Replacing the air filter
Good air circulation is important for the working of a combustion engine, and an air filter has the important job of keeping dust and other particles out of the engine as it draws air in.
However, after prolonged use, the air filter can get clogged to the point where it blocks air entry into the engine altogether, all of which puts undue strain on the engine and shorten its lifespan. Thankfully, there’s an easy fix to this.
Replacing your air filters isn’t a tough job, and new filters are available quite readily. You might even find that your lawnmower uses foam filters, in which case you just have to wash them out and reuse them.
5. Checking the spark plug
Another cause of concern is the spark plug. Just like with air filters, spark plugs are essential to the function of the motor on your lawnmower and they too can wear down over time.
You’ll know it’s time to replace your spark plug when it takes more and more pulls on the cord to get your lawnmower running since it is the spark plug that ignites the fuel.
Replacing the spark plug is still not that much of an issue; they’re cheap and easily available and take very little effort to replace. Still, if you want your spark plugs to last longer, you might want to clean the dust and rust buildup around them regularly.